Chick's Alma Mater Closes

After more than 90 years the Pasadena Playhouse in California has taught acting and presented plays. Jack Chick graduated there after WW2, and it's where he met his future wife. Now, the theater is scheduled to close its doors on Feb. 7, after the final performance of "Camelot," because of deep debt. The entire staff of 37 was laid off Thursday. "We firmly believe it would be irresponsible to continue to operate in the same financial patterns of the past," Stephen Eich, the executive director of the playhouse, said in a statement, adding that the theater will explore bankruptcy and financial reorganization. The playhouse, which has closed and filed for bankruptcy before, has been the staging ground for many productions, including "Looped," starring Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead, which is scheduled to start previews on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater this month.